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Campylobacter species are zoonotic pathogens, as well as the prevalent cause of foodborne bacterial gastroenteritis. The spread of antimicrobial-resistant strains poses a serious threat to global public health and attracts attention worldwide, but information about clinical Campylobacter is relatively limited compared to isolates from food and animals. The current study illustrated the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates collected from a consecutive surveillance program between 2012 and 2019 in Shanghai, China, using antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole-genome sequencing. Among the 891 Campylobacter strains (761 C. jejuni and 130 C. coli) isolates collected, high portions above 90% of resistance to ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, and tetracycline were observed for both C. jejuni and C. coli. The most common MDR profiles represented by C. jejuni and C. coli were combination of ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, florfenicol and nalidixic acid (5.39%), and azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, gentamicin, tetracycline, clindamycin, nalidixic acid (28.46%), respectively. The erythromycin resistance of C. coli (59.23%) is higher than C. jejuni (2.50%). A total of 76 erythromycin resistant isolates (16 C. jejuni and 60 C. coli) were sequenced using Illumina platform for determining the genotypes, antimicrobial resistance patterns and phylogeny analysis. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis showed a high genetic diversity with 47 sequence types (STs), including 4 novel alleles and 12 new STs. The most abundant clonal complexes (CCs) were CC-403 (31.25%) and CC-828 (88.33%) for C. jejuni and C. coli, respectively. Among the 76 erythromycin-resistant isolates, mutation A2075G in 23S rRNA and erm(B) gene were detected in 53.95 and 39.47%, respectively. The erm(B) gene was identified exclusively in 30 C. coli isolates. All these erm(B) positive isolates were multi-drug resistant. Furthermore, comparison of the erm(B)-carrying isolates of multiple sources worldwide demonstrated the possibility of zoonotic transmission of erm(B) in Campylobacter. These findings highlight the importance of continuous surveillance of erythromycin resistance dissemination in Campylobacter which may compromise the effectiveness of antimicrobial therapy.

Introduction: Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent and complex condition that poses significant medical, social, and economic burdens worldwide. The accurate and timely assessment and diagnosis of LBP, particularly non-specific LBP (NSLBP), are crucial to developing effective interventions and treatments for LBP patients. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential of combining B-mode ultrasound image features with shear wave elastography (SWE) features to improve the classification of NSLBP patients.Methods: We recruited 52 subjects with NSLBP from the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital and collected B-mode ultrasound images and SWE data from multiple sites. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used as the ground truth to classify NSLBP patients. We extracted and selected features from the data and employed a support vector machine (SVM) model to classify NSLBP patients. The performance of the SVM model was evaluated using five-fold cross-validation and the accuracy, precision, and sensitivity were calculated.Results: We obtained an optimal feature set of 48 features, among which the SWE elasticity feature had the most significant contribution to the classification task. The SVM model achieved an accuracy, precision, and sensitivity of 0.85, 0.89, and 0.86, respectively, which were higher than the previously reported values of MRI.Discussion: In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential of combining B-mode ultrasound image features with shear wave elastography (SWE) features to improve the classification of non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) patients. Our results showed that combining B-mode ultrasound image features with SWE features and employing an SVM model can improve the automatic classification of NSLBP patients. Our findings also suggest that the SWE elasticity feature is a crucial factor in classifying NSLBP patients, and the proposed method can identify the important site and position of the muscle in the NSLBP classification task.

AIM: To observe the clinical efficacy between SMILE and FS-LASIK with monovision design to treat the presbyopia.METHODS: According to the methods of operation, the presbyope with myopia were divided into two groups, who received the treatment with monovision design. SMILE group had 10 patients(20 eyes),the average age were 45±2.83 years old and myopia degree was -5.42±1.74D. FS-LASIK group had 9 patients(18 eyes), the average age were 45±1.97 years old and myopia degree was -5.60±1.84D. The far vision and the near vision of monocular and binocular of preoperative and postoperative between two groups were observed.RESULTS: SMILE group in preoperative: the preoperative subjective eye's far visual acuity was 0.05±0.04, the subjective eye's near vision was 0.36±0.15; the objective eye's far visual acuity was 0.35±0.11, the objective eye's near visual acuity was 0.16±0.11; the binocular far visual acuity was 0.05±0.05 and the binocular near visual acuity was 0.18±0.09. Preoperative FS-LASIK group: preoperative subjective eye's far visual acuity was 0.09±0.09, subjective eye's near vision was 0.42±0.17; the objective eye's far visual acuity was 0.44±0.11, the objective eye's near visual acuity was 0.19±0.10; the binocular far visual acuity was 0.03±0.04 and the binocular near visual acuity was 0.19±0.11. The result of before surgery between the two groups had no statistical difference(P﹥0.05). Postoperative SMILE group: the far visual acuity of subjective eye was -0.01±0.06, the near vision of subjective eye was 0.32±0.14; the far visual acuity of objective eye was 0.16±0.18, the near visual acuity of objective eye was 0.12±0.12; the binocular far visual acuity was -0.04±0.07, the binocular near visual acuity was 0.10±0.11. Postoperative FS-LASIK group: the far visual acuity of subjective eye was 0.03±0.03, the near vision of subjective eye was 0.45±0.13; the far visual acuity of objective eye was 0.20±0.15, the near visual acuity of objective eye was 0.24±0.12; the binocular far visual acuity was 0.01±0.03 and the binocular near visual acuity was 0.22±0.09. The comparisons of after surgery between the two groups were statistical differences in the binocular far vision(t= -2.383, P=0.034), and the binocular near vision(t= -2.424, P=0.027). The vision comparisons between preoperative and postoperative in SMILE group, there were all statistically significant in the far visual acuity of subjective eye(t=3.914, P=0.004), the far visual acuity of objective eye(t=4.894, P=0.001), the binocular far visual acuity(t=4.870, P=0.001)and the binocular near visual acuity(t=2.388, P=0.041). That means the vision of postoperative was better than the expected vision before operation. The far visual acuity of objective eye were compared between preoperative and postoperative in FS-LASIK group, the differences was statistically significant(t=4.068, P=0.004).CONCLUSION: To presbyope with myopia, the treatment of SMILE and FS-LASIK all can get expected results with monovision design. But the patients after SMILE would have better binocular far vision and binocular near vision than after FS-LASIK.

Abstract Objective This study investigated the influence of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on lung function in early convalescence phase. Methods A retrospective study of COVID-19 patients at the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University were conducted, with serial assessments including lung volumes (TLC), spirometry (FVC, FEV1), lung diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO),respiratory muscle strength, 6-min walking distance (6MWD) and high resolution CT being collected at 30 days after discharged. Results Fifty-seven patients completed the serial assessments. There were 40 non-severe cases and 17 severe cases. Thirty-one patients (54.3%) had abnormal CT findings. Abnormalities were detected in the pulmonary function tests in 43 (75.4%) of the patients. Six (10.5%), 5(8.7%), 25(43.8%) 7(12.3%), and 30 (52.6%) patients had FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC ratio, TLC, and DLCO values less than 80% of predicted values, respectively. 28 (49.1%) and 13 (22.8%) patients had PImax and PEmax values less than 80% of the corresponding predicted values. Compared with non-severe cases, severe patients showed higher incidence of DLCO impairment (75.6%vs42.5%, p = 0.019), higher lung total severity score (TSS) and R20, and significantly lower percentage of predicted TLC and 6MWD. No significant correlation between TSS and pulmonary function parameters was found during follow-up visit. Conclusion Impaired diffusing-capacity, lower respiratory muscle strength, and lung imaging abnormalities were detected in more than half of the COVID-19 patients in early convalescence phase. Compared with non-severe cases, severe patients had a higher incidence of DLCO impairment and encountered more TLC decrease and 6MWD decline.

Objective Identification and drug resistance of two stains of Yersinia aleksiciae (Ya) isolated from different foods were studied, which provided technical reserves for the isolation of the new Yersinia spp. Methods A total of 300 food samples were collected from August 2018 to March 2019, including pork, beef and chicken. Separation culture, biochemical identification, drug resistance test, and whole genome sequencing analysis were performed on the isolated suspected Ya. Results The positive rate of Ya in food samples was 0.7% (2/300). In biochemical identification, Ya was distinguished from Yersinia enterocolitica (Ye) by lysine decarboxylase test, and Ya was positive for lysine decarboxylase while Ye was negative. Ya didn’t exhibit natural resistance to ampicillin, cephalosporin I, ticarcillin and other drugs similar to Ye, and the drug resistance was different between the two strains. 16S rRNA, gyrB, rpoD genes were compared by whole genome sequencing to confirm that the two isolates were Ya. Conclusion The two strains of Ya were isolated and found in China for the first time. There was also no report on the isolation of these strains from food. The method provided in this study could be used for the isolation and identification of new Yersinia spp.

This study aims to determine whether dysfunctional High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) influenced the expression of scavenger receptor class B type Ⅰ (SR-B1) to determine reverse cholesterol transport. Blood samples obtained from coronary heart disease patients confirmed by angiography were collected. HDL was extracted from the blood via ultracentrifugation. Then, the HDL was injected into apoE−/− mice, and the HepG2 cells cultured with Dulbecco’s modified eagle medium (DMEM) were added the HDL extracted from coronary heart disease patients. As controls, normal cases without coronary heart disease (CHD) and patients with angina pectoris and acute myocardial infarction were used. The protein expression levels of SR-B1 were detected by western blot, and the lipid accumulation levels were detected by Oil Red O staining in both tissues and cell levels. These results revealed that the HDL obtained from CHD patients downregulate the SR-B1 expression in ex vitro and in vitro studies. In addition, dysfunctional HDL may result in lower SR-B1 expression levels. The degree of SR-B1 expression levels could be relative to the degree of coronary congestion. Along with the increase in severe coronary congestion, such as myocardial infarction, the SR-B1 expression levels were lower. The dysfunctional HDL derived from coronary heart disease patients decreased the expression of SR-B1, and promoted lipid accumulation.

Objective This study aimed to detect circulating microRNA (miR)-17 and miR-20a levels in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and to investigate whether circulating miR-17 levels are associated with PAH. Methods Thirty-five PAH patients and 20 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Circulating miR-17 and miR-20a levels were measured using real-time PCR analysis. Results miR-17 levels were significantly increased in PAH patients compared with healthy controls. They were also higher in PAH patients at World Health Organization functional class (WHO FC) III–IV than WHO FC I–II PAH patients. There was no significant difference in miR-20a levels between PAH patients and controls. miR-17 had a high area under the corresponding receiver operating characteristic curve. Further, we found that circulating miR-17 levels correlated with the 6-minute walk distance, mean pulmonary artery pressure, and mean right atrial pressure in PAH patients. Conclusion Circulating miR-17 levels may be associated with human PAH. Therefore, miR-17 could be used as a diagnostic index and prognostic factor for PAH patients.

Background/Aims: To detect the changes of high density lipoprotein (HDL) and its subtypes in serum of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods: 337 hospitalized patients were selected from our hospital during August, 2014 - January, 2015, and divided into CHD group (n = 190) and control group (n = 127). Lipoprint lipoprotein analyzer was used to classify low density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size and its sub-components, as well as HDL particle size and its sub-components. The changes of the subtypes in patients with CHD were statistically analyzed. The possible mechanism was explored. Results: (1) Compared with the control group, the concentration of HDL in CHD patients reduced, HDLL significantly decreased (P S increased (P L had the most significant decreased; (3) HDL and all HDL subtypes were positively correlated with apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), of which, HDLL had the biggest correlation with apoA-I (P M had a maximum correlation with HDL (P Conclusion: HDL maturation disorders existed in the serum of CHD patients, HDLL may be protected factor for CHD, whose decrease was closely related wit the risk increase of CHD. The cardiovascular protection function of HDLL may be related with apoA-I content.

Objective: This study investigated whether and how intermedin (IMD) exerted a protective effect against simulated hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury in high-glucose-treated H9c2 cells. Methods: Cellular viability was assessed via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Oxidative stress was determined by malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase content in the culture medium supernatant. Flow cytometry with Annexin V/propidium iodide staining was used to detect the cardiomyocyte apoptosis rate. The protein expression of Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3, and ERK1/2 was determined by western blot. Results: IMD administration to H9c2 cells during H/R injury decreased oxidative stress product generation and inhibited apoptosis ( P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) while these effects were blocked by the ERK1/2 inhibitor ( P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Through the application of a specific ERK1/2 inhibitor, it was demonstrated that IMD mitigates high-glucose-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis via ERK1/2 signaling. Conclusion: Intermedin may be a novel therapeutic agent for mitigating diabetic cardiovascular injury in the clinical setting.

AIM: To investigate the clinical safety and effectiveness of the two kind of bandage contact lenses: Senofilcon A(Johnson & Johnson Acuvue Oasys)and Balafilcon A(Bausch& Lomb pure vision)after laser-assisted subepithelial keratectomy(LASEK). METHODS: Thirty-eight patients(76 eyes)who had undergone the LASEK were divided into two groups. One group of patients wore Balafilcon A, the other group of patients fitted with Senofilcon A. The lenses were worn continuously for 7d. This was a seven-day experience and the patients scored for the symptom of the eyes(sore eyes, foreign body sensation and tearing)on the third day and the seventh day. Both of the two groups of patients taken off the soft contact lens on the seventh day and let their vision and corneal staining checked.RESULTS: The symptoms of eye sore and tearing of the two groups patients were different. The patients who wore the Senofilcon A were better. The pain of eyes were also different at 3 and 7d after surgeries(Z=-4.146, P=0.000; Z=-2.814, P=0.005). The difference on tearing between the two groups at 3 and 7d after surgeries were significant(Z=-2.309, P=0.021; Z=-3.276, P=0.001). There was no difference on sensation of dryness between the two groups at 3 and 7d after surgeries(Z=-0.447, P=0.655; Z=-0.966, P=0.334). After the lenses were taken off, the visual acuity of patients wearing Senofilcon A was better(t=3.800, P=0.001); corneal staining showed limited spots in 1-2 quadrants with significant difference(Z=-2.384,P=0.017). CONCLUSION: The Senofilcon A(Johnson & Johnson Acuvue Oasys)and Balafilcon A(Bausch& Lomb pure vision)bandage contact lenses are safe and effective after LASEK, and the former is better than the latter in epithelial regeneration.

Alternaria alternata (Fries) Keissler is a phytopathogenic fungus responsible for tobacco brown spot disease. This study aims to evaluate the antifungal activity of strain 163 against A. alternata and clarify its taxonomic status. The evaluation of the antifungal activity of strain 163 and its bacteria-free filtrate of fermentation broth was done through measuring the diameters of inhibition zones, and testing the antimicrobial spectrum and the inhibition effect on mycelial growth in vitro. The biocontrol activity of the bacteria-free filtrate in vivo was evaluated by using detached tobacco leaves method and assaying the inhibition rate to disease incidence in growth chamber. A polyphasic approach was taken in the identification of strain 163. The bacterial strain 163 showed inhibitory effect in vitro against A. alternata. The bacteria-free filtrate of the strain 163 fermentation broth showed a 56.7% inhibition rate in a detached leaf assay. In growth chamber conditions, it showed greater biocontrol activity when applied before plants being inoculated with A. alternata than after, the inhibition rate being 46.05%. Investigations into the morphological, cultural, physiological and biochemical properties of strain 163 found it to be most similar to Streptomyces microflavus. Its classification into cell wall type I and sugar type C further confirmed its Streptomyces characteristics. Construction of a phylogenetic tree based on 16S rDNA verified that strain 163 was most closely related to Streptomyces microflavus. From polyphasic taxonomical analysis, strain 163 was found to be identical to S. microflavus.

Abstract Background Microbial infection and colonization are frequently associated with disease progression and poor clinical outcomes in bronchiectasis. Identification of pathogen spectrum is crucial for precision treatment at exacerbation of bronchiectasis. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study in patients with bronchiectasis exacerbation onset and stable state. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was collected for conventional microbiological tests (CMTs) and metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing (mNGS). Bronchiectasis patients were monitored for documenting the time to the next exacerbation during longitudinal follow-up. Results We recruited 168 eligible participants in the exacerbation cohorts, and 38 bronchiectasis patients at stable state at longitudinal follow-up. 141 bronchiectasis patients at exacerbation onset had definite or probable pathogens via combining CMTs with mNGS reports. We identified that Pseudomonas aeruginosa, non-tuberculous mycobacteria, Haemophilus influenzae, Nocardia spp, and Staphylococcus aureus were the top 5 pathogens with a higher detection rate in our cohorts via combination of CMTs and mNGS analysis. We also observed strong correlations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Haemophilus influenzae, non-tuberculous mycobacteria with disease severity, including the disease duration, Bronchiectasis Severity Index, and lung function. Moreover, the adjusted pathogenic index of potential pathogenic microorganism negatively correlated (r = -0.7280, p

ABSTRACT Although the Omicron variant has been associated with greater transmissibility and tropism of the upper respiratory tract, the clinical and pathogenic features of patients infected with the Omicron variant during an outbreak in China have been unclear. Adults with COVID-19 were retrospectively enrolled from seven medical centers in Guangzhou, China, and clinical information and specimens ( BALF, sputum, and throat swabs) from participants were collected. Conventional detection methods, metagenomics next-generation sequencing (mNGS), and other methods were used to detect pathogens in lower respiratory tract samples. From December 2022 to January 2023, we enrolled 836 patients with COVID-19, among which 56.7% patients had severe/critical illness. About 91.4% of patients were infected with the Omicron strain (BA.5.2). The detection rate of possible co-infection pathogens was 53.4% by mNGS, including Klebsiella pneumoniae (16.3%), Aspergillus fumigatus (12.2%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11.8%). The co-infection rate was 19.5%, with common pathogens being Streptococcus pneumoniae (11.5%), Haemophilus influenzae (9.2%), and Adenovirus (6.9%). The superinfection rate was 75.4%, with common pathogens such as Klebsiella pneumoniae (26.1%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19.4%). Klebsiella pneumoniae (27.1%% vs 6.1%, P < 0.001), Aspergillus fumigatus (19.6% vs 5.3%, P = 0.001), Acinetobacter baumannii (18.7% vs 4.4%, P = 0.001), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16.8% vs 7.0%, P = 0.024), Staphylococcus aureus (14.0% vs 5.3%, P = 0.027), and Streptococcus pneumoniae (0.9% vs 10.5%, P = 0.002) were more common in severe cases. Co-infection and superinfection of bacteria and fungi are common in patients with severe pneumonia associated with Omicron variant infection. Sequencing methods may aid in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of pathogens.IMPORTANCEOur study has analyzed the clinical characteristics and pathogen spectrum of the lower respiratory tract associated with co-infection or superinfection in Guangzhou during the outbreak of the Omicron strain, particularly after the relaxation of the epidemic prevention and control strategy in China. This study will likely prompt further research into the specific issue, which will benefit clinical practice.

In this paper, three kinds of polymer, of epoxy resin (EP), phenolic resin (PF), and unsaturated polyester (UP), were used as fillers to prepare the laminated composite surface, and the tribological properties of a composite surface were studied under dry sliding condition. The results showed that: (i) the composites surface without MoS2 exhibited high friction coefficient and high wear rate at 25 °C, while the friction coefficients were reduced when the temperature increases to 100 °C; (ii) with the addition of MoS2, the friction coefficient of the epoxy resin composite containing MoS2 (E1) was below 0.22 under a temperature of 25–150 °C, and the friction coefficient was increased to 0.32 as temperature increased to 150 °C, while the average friction coefficient of the unsaturated polyester composite containing MoS2 (U1) was very low and below 0.20 under a temperature of 25–150 °C. Analysis of the wear scars indicated that, for the MoS2-containing composite, the transfer films of the E1 and U1 were smooth and continuous under low temperature, while the transfer film of U1 was comparatively complete than that of E1 under 150 °C. The composites with solid lubrication had excellent high-temperature self-lubricating properties, which was attributed to the synergistic effect of the laminated structure, and the thermal expansion of the polymer, and finally a transfer film was formed on the sliding path.

Type VI secretion systems (T6SSs) are widespread multi-component machineries that translocate effectors into either eukaryotic or prokaryotic cells, for virulence or for interbacterial competition. Herein, we report that the T6SS-4 from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis displays an unexpected function in the transportation of Zn2+ to combat diverse stresses and host immunity. Environmental insults such as oxidative stress induce the expression of T6SS-4 via OxyR, the transcriptional factor that also regulates many oxidative response genes. Zinc transportation is achieved by T6SS-4-mediated translocation of a novel Zn2+-binding protein substrate YezP (YPK_3549), which has the capacity to rescue the sensitivity to oxidative stress exhibited by T6SS-4 mutants when added to extracellular milieu. Disruption of the classic zinc transporter ZnuABC together with T6SS-4 or yezP results in mutants that almost completely lost virulence against mice, further highlighting the importance of T6SS-4 in resistance to host immunity. These results assigned an unconventional role to T6SSs, which will lay the foundation for studying novel mechanisms of metal ion uptake by bacteria and the role of this process in their resistance to host immunity and survival in harmful environments.

A new species, Primula lizipingensis W.B.Ju, L.Y.He & X.F.Gao, found in Shimian County, Sichuan, China, is described and illustrated. It is morphologically similar to P. rhodochroa and P. socialis, but can be distinguished from them in having shorter plants covering with white farinose, leaf margin sharply dentate above the middle, the leaf blade becomes papery after drying, scapes obsolete, the bract linear-lanceolate to subulate, solitary at the base of the pedicel, and the white hairs present inside the corolla tube.

The rice stem borer (RSB), Chilo suppressalis (Walker), poses a significant threat to rice crops in China, with a rapid increase in chlorantraniliprole (CHL) resistance observed over the past decade. However, the co-evolutionary relationship between metabolic and target-site resistance mechanisms underlying high-level CHL resistance remains poorly explored. This study monitored CHL resistance in RSB populations from the Fuyang (FY) district of Hangzhou city, Zhejiang Province, from 2020 to 2023, revealing a resistance ratio of 749- to 1820-fold. Two known mutations (Y4667D/C and I4758M) were detected, and the I4758M mutant genotype, accounting for over 73%, displayed a gradual decrease in homozygosity over the past four years. Additionally, there was a significant 2.30-fold increase in P450 activity in FY23 compared to a susceptible strain. Furthermore, four significantly overexpressed P450 genes (CsCYP321F3, CsCYP324A12, CsCYP6CV5 and CsCYP9A68) were identified in FY populations, displaying relatively stable levels between years, except for CsCYP6CV5. In this context, we screened a plant-derived synergist, magnolol (MA), which inhibited P450 activities by 29.09%-33.53% and reduced the mRNA expression of CsCYP6CV5 by 56.96%-60.28% from second day post-treatment. Field trial results indicated that a formulation of 25% MA suspension concentrate (SC) mixed with 200 g/L CHL SC substantially reduced the dead heart rates by 53.02% and increased the panicle-bearing tiller rate by 39.09% compared to the insecticide alone in early-season rice. These findings reveal the evolutionary mechanisms driving high-level resistance to diamides in lepidopteran pests and provide practical insights for managing CHL resistance in RSB field populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mazus motuoensis W.B.Ju, Bo Xu bis & X.F.Gao is a newly described species found in Xizang Autonomous Region, China. Morphologically, this species differs from all the other known Mazus species by having erect perennial herb form with a rhizome, presence of multicellular hairs, without basal leaves, opposite arrangement of stem leaves, and corolla lobes with erose-toothed margins. Molecular phylogenetic analysis using nuclear and cpDNA genes suggests that this new species occupies a basal position within Mazus. In conclusion, both morphological evidence and molecular phylogenetic analyses support that this species belongs to Mazus and represents an as-yet-unreported new species with distinct differences from other species within the genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a description of a newly discovered species, Primula medogensis, found in southern Xizang, China. Additionally, we explore distinctive morphological characteristics that aid in its taxonomy. The new species belongs to sect. Cordifoliae and exhibits morphological similarities to P. baileyana and P. rotundifolia. However, it can be distinguished by its densely grayish-haired roots, petioles that are 3–7 times longer than the leaf blades, a short stock surrounded by straight and withered petioles, reniform leaf blades with revolute margins, scapes shorter than or equal to leave and both at flowering and in fruiting, flowers solitary on the scapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Indigofera L. is the third largest genus in Fabaceae and includes economically important species that are used for indigo dye-producing, medicinal, ornamental, and soil and water conservation. The genus is taxonomically difficult due to the high level of overlap in morphological characters of interspecies, fewer reliability states for classification, and extensive adaptive evolution. Previous characteristic-based taxonomy and nuclear ITS-based phylogenies have contributed to our understanding of Indigofera taxonomy and evolution. However, the lack of chloroplast genomic resources limits our comprehensive understanding of the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary processes of Indigofera. Methods: Here, we newly assembled 18 chloroplast genomes of Indigofera. We performed a series of analyses of genome structure, nucleotide diversity, phylogenetic analysis, species pairwise Ka/Ks ratios, and positive selection analysis by combining with allied species in Papilionoideae. Results and discussion: The chloroplast genomes of Indigofera exhibited highly conserved structures and ranged in size from 157,918 to 160,040 bp, containing 83 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. Thirteen highly variable regions were identified, of which trnK-rbcL, ndhF-trnL, and ycf1 were considered as candidate DNA barcodes for species identification of Indigofera. Phylogenetic analysis using maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods based on complete chloroplast genome and protein-coding genes (PCGs) generated a well-resolved phylogeny of Indigofera and allied species. Indigofera monophyly was strongly supported, and four monophyletic lineages (i.e., the Pantropical, East Asian, Tethyan, and Palaeotropical clades) were resolved within the genus. The species pairwise Ka/Ks ratios showed values lower than 1, and 13 genes with significant posterior probabilities for codon sites were identified in the positive selection analysis using the branch-site model, eight of which were associated with photosynthesis. Positive selection of accD suggested that Indigofera species have experienced adaptive evolution to selection pressures imposed by their herbivores and pathogens. Our study provided insight into the structural variation of chloroplast genomes, phylogenetic relationships, and adaptive evolution in Indigofera. These results will facilitate future studies on species identification, interspecific and intraspecific delimitation, adaptive evolution, and the phylogenetic relationships of the genus Indigofera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]